Valeria Madina Club Resort All Inclusive

We left angry and disappointed, and my child hated the trip. I feel we wasted our hard-earned money. This was the worst hotel and resort stay I’ve ever had. I’d give it minus 5 stars if I could. If anyone from management, First Choice, or TUI reads this, I expect a full refund because the holiday fell far short of what we paid for. It was advertised as a resort, but felt like a badly managed money-making operation, cutting costs everywhere while charging premium prices. Avoid it. The rooms were filthy, with ants, and looked old and poorly maintained. Mugs, glasses, plates, and cutlery were still dirty after washing, so I had to clean them myself. Food was poor quality, tasteless, and the same every day. The breakfast coffee machine didn’t work. The room had no proper air conditioning. Reception told me they’d deliberately switched it off because “it’s not too hot,” even though it was 32°C and boiling in the room day and night. Sleeping was impossible, and they dismissed my complaint. The WiFi was extremely slow or unusable, and there was barely any signal around the resort. Bar service was a joke: too few bars and staff, with long queues all day. Drinks were cheap, poor quality, and often warm in the heat. There were no properly chilled drinks, not even ice cream for children, and getting drinking water was difficult. It shouldn’t be a struggle to find bottled water or a cold drink in scorching weather. The queues for everything were endless, and it almost seemed they were meant to put guests off getting a second drink. The customer service was appalling. Staff seemed to answer every request, question, or problem with “No,” often rudely and without trying to help. Few spoke English, making simple conversations difficult. They seemed untrained and unprofessional. When I asked for a lemon, they sent me between counters because nobody seemed to understand. It summed up the resort’s poor organization and communication. I also found it hard to get even basic comfort or help. There was barely any English-speaking staff and no willingness to deal with customers properly.

The place has huge potential, but it’s run down and filthy, and it felt like the French were catered to. Some staff were lovely, while others were miserable and rude. The food quality was shocking, with the same dishes every day and no variety. The hotel is too far out to go elsewhere to eat. KiKi from the Valeria animation team was lovely, and the only staff member who really made an effort with entertainment for the French. Zuhair, in guest relations or whatever his role was, was rude and obnoxious. After I complained to jet2, I deleted most of my photos, so only these two are left. Made Morroco look bad!

Not suitable for disabled visitors. There are very few ramps, and they’re spaced far apart. I reported repairs six times, and they still seem not to get done.

The rooms were shabby, so this definitely isn’t a 4 star hotel. Staff were polite, but not many speak good English, so be ready for requests to get lost. Our room was the farthest from the main area, quite a hike away. We were also quoted two different prices for local tax. The big main pool was out of action for three of our seven days, with no explanation, so everyone had to scramble for loungers at the other pools. The food was OK, and they tried to cater to different nationalities, but flies and birds were on it. Entertainment was all in French, so we’d eat dinner and return to our room. We were there during the earthquake. The next day there was a long announcement in French, then just five seconds in English, which only told us we were in the green zone and safe. It didn’t make us feel safe. A memorable break, but for all the wrong reasons.